Lightning strikes just feet away from a lucky man who recorded a violent storm on camera. Rocket scientist Bruce Hyland, 63, and three friends were camping at Shoshone Lake in Wyoming when a sudden hailstorm rolled in.

Published 25th June 2014

LIGHTNING snaps just FEET away from a lucky man who recorded a violent storm on camera.

The split-second strike happened so fast that rocket scientist Bruce Hyland and his three friends didn’t see it until he replayed the footage.

Shocked Bruce, 63, from Orangevale, California, USA, and three friends were camping at Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA, on June 10, when a sudden hailstorm rolled in.

He pulled out his point-and-shoot camera to record the weather wreaking havoc on the lake surface, but captured the startling strike instead.

Bruce said: “It was a jaw-dropping experience looking at footage - you can’t believe you were that close.

“I didn’t see a flash or feel a jolt or any static electricity that people say they feel when lightning strikes - we just heard an enormous explosion.

“When I played back the video, I saw the ground erupting. We were about 30ft from the tree that the lighting hit.”

After the storm, Bruce snapped photos of the patterns the lightning strike left in the ground.

He said: “It appears that the lightning went down into the tree and into the roots when the ground exploded.

“It created these unique patterns about 15-20ft away from us that were several inches deep.

“It was strange because we couldn’t see any damage to the tree - but there was so much energy the ground erupted.”

Bruce had a close encounter with a Grizzly bear at the same camp site a few years earlier.

He said: “The site is very memorable in terms of experiences - it’s quite an intimidating place for me, because I’ve had a few brushes with nature there now.

“This strike was a unique experience - you never know what nature will throw at you.

“We’re just relieved that no one was injured - or worse. We were in a remote area with no cell phone service, it would have taken hours to get emergency help.”